


Sirius Orion Black: A Psychological Case Study

by potionspartner



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Character Study
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-03
Updated: 2020-09-03
Packaged: 2021-03-07 02:35:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,012
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26259517
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/potionspartner/pseuds/potionspartner
Summary: So, without further ado, Professor, here is my case study on Sirius Orion Black. I’m not sure if it will make you like him better but perhaps it will help you understand him more.2nd Place Most Creative Story 2020 FROG Awards on HPFT
Comments: 2
Kudos: 3





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> NoelleZingarella gave permission to use her name in this story.

July 31, 2019

Re: My assignment for your magical psychology class

Dear Professor Zingarella,

While I understand that the assignment was to interview a person I knew well and create an anonymous case study of that person, I feel compelled to adapt the expectations and to justify my reasons before you read said report. The man I picked for my case study, I do not know at all and cannot interview him, for he is already dead.

I never particularly liked the man. Perhaps it is because to even consider how he wasted his raw intellectual talent and potential academic prowess is an affront to my Ravenclaw sensibilities. Perhaps it is more to my Slytherin boyfriend’s view on family and honor for he described the man as “the unblackest Black that ever did live yet his heart was anything but white.”

However, despite my lack of initial interview, I researched extensively for this case study including but not limited to reports from Hogwarts and the Ministry of Magic. I also interviewed multiple people, both alive and portraits, who knew him. Harry Potter, who is his godson, not only gave me a full interview, he also allowed me access to the portraits of both the subject’s mother and great-great grandfather, Nigellus Black. The former was a particularly interesting experience. My uncle, an Unspeakable, was intrigued by this assignment. He snuck into the death chamber to ask some interview questions, but alas all he heard in response was some faint whispers.

So, without further ado, Professor Zingarella, here is my case study on Sirius Orion Black. I’m not sure if it will make you like him better but perhaps it will help you understand him more. 

Sincerely,

Potions Partner


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Case 
> 
> Please note: I do not have a medical degree and do not claim to have expert knowledge in either psychological conditions or Sirius Orion Black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please note: Some of this is canon. Some is based on stories I've written and some is just peer headcanon for this story.

**Name** : Sirius Orion Black

**Date and Location of Birth** : 3rd of November 1959 in Islington borough of London, United Kingdom

**Date and Location of Death** : 18th of June 1996 in the Death Chamber, Department of Mysteries, Ninth Level of the Ministry of Magic, London, United Kingdom

**Relatives** :

\--Walburga Black (née Black)-mother (1925-1985)

\--Orion Black-father (1929-1979)

\--Almathea-sister (1954-1966) Sister died just before her supposed entry into Hogwarts; however, rumors suggest that she was a squib and is still alive at the time of this publication. (N. Zingarella, P. Partner. Thea. HPFT Archive. 27 March 2019)

\--Regulus Arcturus-brother (1961-1979)

**Blood Status:** Pureblood Family

**History** : Sirius Black was the eldest son of Walburga and Orion Black. The Blacks are members of the Sacred Twenty-Eight and considered one of the most radical pure-blood families of Great Britain. There is a myth within the magical community that pureblood families tend to have fewer children because of their difficulties in conceiving. Although there is substantial evidence that the families tend to marry within themselves, (Indeed Walburga and Orion were second cousins and her maiden name was also Black) However, there is little evidence that procreation was problematic. Walburga was one of three and her brother, Cygnus, begat three daughters. Walburga and Orion themselves, married soon after Orion graduated from Hogwarts, had three children.

Despite being the middle child (with an older sister who died when he was six years old), Sirius was doted on and indulged as a youth. As the eldest son of a pureblood family, he was set to inherit everything and was, no doubt, treated in such a manner. Pureblood children, particularly boys, are directly and indirectly taught several key concepts that impacted Black’s temperament. 1.) He was a Black and as a Black he was above others including many other purebloods. 2.) As a Black, he did not need to follow the rules set forth for others. (Please note: this does not pertain to rules of pureblood ceremony and etiquette but rather rules of social interaction with others not of his station.)

His younger brother, Regulus, as the “spare” instead of the “heir” was not brought up with the same titlement. As a result, Sirius grew up expecting to be served whereas Regulus was expected to serve. This understanding of position greatly impacted their decisions in life.

With wealth and status, Sirius Black grew up as expected, the entitled child of a sacred twenty-eight family; however, his childhood was far from idyllic. Pureblood families, historically, used a variety of severe child rearing methods of which Walburga Black capitalized upon. Her portrait admitted to a multitude of hexes and jinks she utilized to keep “three unruly children in line.” When asked about the use of Unforgivables, Mrs. Black became silent. She never denied such allegations and there was more than rumors to substantiate such allegations.

David Dudgeon, a fellow classmate of Blacks at Hogwarts, overheard Sirius talking to his friends one night in the common room. He was shocked by the conversation about the cruciatus curse. One student was making an off-handed remark about the curse not possibly being so bad, when Sirius spoke up. “I’ll never forget what he said,” Dudgeon explained, “because he was so calm, but also so angry. It was very obvious he knew exactly what the curse felt like. He said, ‘it feels like you are being stabbed, hit by the Knight Bus and falling onto a bed of nails at the same time. I should know my mother used it from when I was very young.’ “ (D. Dudgeon)

In an interview with Narcissa Black Malfoy, cousin to Sirius, she described a punishment to his elder sister, Thea. One can imagine that he experienced similar tortures. “One day, when Thea was about ten, she had come over to play, but it was immediately obvious that something was wrong. After some persuasion from me, she admitted to me that a punishment her mother had bestowed upon her three days prior was still emotionally impacting her. Evidently, her mother had placed the imperius curse on her and then forced the girl to push her own head underwater to the point of near asphyxiation before pulling her head out. This would repeat over and over until she passed out or her mother grew bored with it. When I asked my dear cousin what she had done to deserve such treatment, she drew her knees up to her body and only shook her head.” (N. Malfoy)

Based on the almost diametrically opposite methods of parenting that Sirius was subjected to, plus his actions and decision making at both Hogwarts and beyond, I believe that Sirius Orion Black should have been diagnosed with Narcissistic Personality Disorder.

**MEDICAL DIAGNOSIS**

**Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD)** the Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD) is a mental condition characterized by an extreme sense of entitlement, self-importance, desire for excessive attention and a lack of empathy for others. It is more frequently found in males than females and manifests itself during the teen years (aka Hogwarts years.) Muggles have been studying this disorder but it is still not well understood; however, this report takes the key components of what is documented for NPD and compare them to the life of Black.

**Causes of Narcissistic Personality Disorder**. NPD is thought to come from a combination of genetic and environmental factors. The genetic component implies that his parents, grandparents etc. suffered from similar delusions of grandeur. Indeed, this idea can be traced back several generations if one considers the evidence from a conversation with his great, great grandfather, Nigellus Black’s portrait, one can infer such conditions were indeed rampant in the tree. Headmaster Black described the Black family as “the most successful and well-known of magical families. Despite some beliefs, even the Malfoys can’t hold a candle to our family. Families such as they, the Rosiers and the LaStragnes were lucky to marry into ours.” This attitude and language is typical of a person suffering from Narcissistic Personality Disorder.

Number twelve Grimmauld Place was a perfect habitat of the second condition: environmental factors of severe physical and/or psychological abuse. It is caused by the impaired attachment to the primary caregiver in which the child perception of himself as unimportant, unconnected and undervalued. Experts describe this as the “mismatch in parent-child relationships with either excessive adoration or excessive criticism that is poorly attuned to the child's experience.” (mayoclinic.org) As demonstrated earlier, the Black household was filled with both excessive adoration in the expectation that Blacks were superior to others and excessive criticism in the form of both verbal and physical abuse. This way seem in some ways as contradictory for the child perceives himself as undervalued and yet he was taught that Blacks are far superior, but it is very possible. Typically the victim feels undervalued as an individual who has his own beliefs but valued as a symbol of the culture’s ideas, in this case pureblood superiority.

**Characteristics of Narcissistic Personality Disorder** NPD manifests itself through a variety of personality traits. While these will depict Black in the worse of light, please recall his childhood and why these might have manifested themselves.

\--Exaggerated sense of self-importance and deep need to constant adoration from others. When fellow classmates were asked about Sirius Black, the answers were varied, but a common theme was found from the Gryffindors, Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs interviewed. They all described Black as extremely good looking with a magnetic aura around him that people gravitated toward. He dated many women during his years there, always picking ones that seemed most desperate to engage him. Girls that tended to stay longer were the ones that adored him the most, feeding him that constant adulations although none were given his attention for long term commitment.

\--Exaggerated of talents/expects praise for achievements not really attained. While there is no doubt that Sirius Black was a talented wizard, he never came close to meeting his full potential. His OWLs and NEWTs were mostly Acceptables and Exceeds Expectations with an Outstanding in Transfiguration. (Ministry of Magic Educational Records. 1977 and 1979.) His former transfiguration teacher, Professor Minerva McGonnagall, was not surprised she described a child who had innate talent in the subject but never completed homework and rarely focused in class. Despite his demonstrations of average magical skill on paper, fellow students described him as “one of the brightest to attend Hogwarts” however, no one was able to cite specific examples. As one classmate, Dilly Dearbright said. “I guess we all assumed he was so smart because he came across that way. He always appeared to be so casually sure of his magical abilities.”

\--Believe that are superior and can only be associated with superior people. Sirius Black found his best friend very quickly, on the train to Hogwarts. James Potter was also an egotistical and entitled pureblood. It makes sense that they would classify each other as one of the few fellow superior people worthy of socializing with. His other two Gryffindor friends, Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew would never have been classified as the same equality; however, both of them, particularly Pettigrew, were key players in the “Sirius Black fan club” continuing that need for adoration by inferiors including expecting special favors and compliance of his orders. The friendship with Lupin, particularly, was done, not because he felt a deep connection for the boy but rather as an example of rebellion from this parents, embracing a friendship with a werewolf.

\--Belittling others that he feels are inferior,Of those inferiors (whether by blood, house or because they weren’t popular) that he could not control, people with NPD strive to make sure they stay “in their place.” There are multiple reports from fellow students as well as stacks of detention slips of Black’s group, nicknamed the Marauders, pranking, jinxing and even hexing those they considered inferior.

\--Lack of empathy for others. There is no doubt that the concept of empathy did not exist at Grimmauld Place and Sirius transferred that to school. The above reports reflect belittling and magically bullying a variety of people, including those who could and did fight back (ie Severus Snape of Slytherin House); however, many of the victims were the small, the younger and the weak. Many interviewed admitting that Sirius was a bully. As one Ravenclaw described. “At the time the pranks he and Potter were just funny and amusing but now that I look back, I realized they were really bully hidden within jokes. I saw many students in tears and shaking in anger and Black would just look at them with a blank, innocent face.”

\--Impulsivity and emotional regulation, sometimes to the point of rage and contempt. Although not typically listed as a characteristic of NPD, a study from the muggle group NCBI, suggested the severe abuse as a child can damage the prefrontal cortex of the brain which controls emotional regulation and decision-making. (Peterson, 2014) Harry Potter, Black’s godson, described him as “twitchy and easily excitable.” The man had a history of making rash decisions. One of which led to his arrest and incarceration for crimes he didn’t commit and another for his own death in the Department of Mysteries. These characteristics, when paired with the lack of empathy, can create a dangerous situation, not only for self but for those around him. The best example would be the “prank” he played on Slytherin, Severus Snape, during their sixth year of school which could have led to the death of two students: Snape and fellow Gryffindor, Remus Lupin. (Potter 2019)

**Choices he made If** one analyzes, Sirius Black’s upbringing and personality characteristics, one could conclude that he was actually the perfect candidate to become a Death Eater yet he did not and some might argue, starting with his sorting he strove for the opposite.

Though neither Sirius’s father nor his uncle were Death Eaters, financial records indicate that Orion donated heavily to You-Know-Whos cause. Sirius’s generation was highly encouraged to pledge to the Dark Lord and records indicate both his younger brother, Regulus and his cousin, Bellatrix did so, the former with resolve and the latter with zeal. So, why didn’t Sirius join the ranks? Harry Potter suggested that Black was truly a good wizard, a wizard of the light. Although, this may be true at the end of his life, I suggest it wasn’t his initial reason.

Sirius Orion Black grew up in a world where he had no control. He was expected to conform to those Black ideas of dark wizardry. As previously mentioned his little brother was taught to serve and serve he did as a low ranking member of the Death Eaters. Sirius, however, was taught that he was entitled and others served him. Perhaps he truly recognized the perils of dark magic or perhaps he didn’t want to be their servant but be the one worshipped but for whatever reason, at the age of eleven, he had a choice. For the first time in his life, he had the ability to control that his parents could do nothing about. He decided to take that control. He became a Gryffindor.

As cited earlier, the foundation for NPD was laid very early in Black’s life both in genes and in environment and NPD dominated his Hogwarts years. Despite this mental disorder, I believe that by the time he graduated from Hogwarts, Black really was a light wizard. Despite suffering from NPD, he was willing to join the Order of the Phoenix, given the death rate, a very hazardous venture. Like the Death Eaters, it is a group that one doesn’t join unless truly committee to its goals and philosophy.

**Post Azkaban**. Narcissistic Personality Disorder is very challenging to treat simply because most people don’t recognize that they have a mental condition for they see no problem in their behavior. However, Black participated in an unusual forced treatment method: twelve years in Azkaban. While no expert would or should recommend such drastic measures, it certainly impacted the now middle-aged man. Twelve years of reliving the worst of your egotism and bully will, no doubt cause some self-reflection. Plus, when he emerged, he had additional responsibilities that should cause one to put aside their self-absorption: an orphan godson.

I will not suggest that after Azkaban, Black was a model of altruism. There is actually very little evidence of those three years since he spent most of the time either on the run or hiding in Grimmauld Place. Many of his NPD characteristics were still present, namely impulsivity and emotional regulation. He was most certainly depressed with his current situation. Guilt riddled him for his best friend’s death and Harry’s current living situation at the Dursleys. he was drinking far too much and could often be seen inebriated by those who visited the townhouse. However, I would argue that he was certainly a changed man. His lack of empathy had been replaced with a desire to help others during the war. His need for self-granduluation had been pushed to memories of the past as the future was uncertain.

If Sirius Black had survived the war, if he had been declared a free man, would he have really changed or would he have reverted back to his narcissistic tendencies? Unfortunately, we’ll never know. Like many in the magical community, his life was cut short before he could really prove his worth. What he left was a legacy of contradictions leading one to conclude that he was a very complicated and influential part of history, whether you loved him or not.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some of these are actual stories. Others are invented works for the purpose of this story.

Works Cited

David Dudgeon, [Personal Interview]. (2019, June 14)

Harry Potter: Godson [Personal interview]. (2019, July 13).

Narcissa Black Malfoy: cousin [Personal Interview}. (2019, June 28). 

Narcissistic personality disorder. (2017, November 18). Retrieved from https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/narcissistic-personality-disorder/symptoms-causes/syc-20366662

Ministry of Magic Education Records (1977, 1979) Hogwarts Final Exam Results.

Ministry of Magic Education Records (1999) Files of You-Know-Who.

Partner, P. and Zingarella, N. (2019, March 28). Thea: A Poisoned Tree: Plight of the Daughters Black Series. HarryPotterFanTalk Archives. Retrieved from https://hpfanfictalk.com/archive/viewstory.php?sid=2755

Petersen, A. C. (2014, March 25). Consequences of Child Abuse and Neglect. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK195987/

Sirius Black. (n.d.). Retrieved July 19, 2019, from https://harrypotter.fandom.com/wiki/Sirius_Black


End file.
